365
•
As of Sept. 2008, 14.9% of the
employed persons
in the WBGS were working in agriculture, fishing and forestry
(PCBS,
Labor Force Survey
, July-Sept. 2008).
•
In the first quarter of 2008, Agriculture and Industry combined were approx. 19% of
GDP
(as compared to 25% in1999).
(The World Bank.
Palestinian Economic Prospects: Aid, Access and Reform.
Sept. 2008.)
•
Sealing off the Gaza Strip was especially harmful, as its agricultural sector and many of its industries are export-oriented.Only one fifth of its two main export products - carnations and strawberries – was exported in 2007 while the remainderwas used as animal feed, resulting in some $6.5 million in losses for carnation farmers and US$7 million for strawberryexporters million.
(UNCTAD.
Report on UNCTAD’s Assistance to the Palestinian People
. July 2008).
•
The sector generates approx. 25% of all Palestinian
exports
; major export goods are fruits, olives and olive oil, vegeta-bles and cut flowers. The sector suffers from the lack of access to markets (Israeli export companies still control thequantity and the quality of Palestinian agricultural commodities), and restricted water resources.
•
Approx. 900,000 dunums are planted with 10 million
olive
trees, constituting 45% of cultivated land and contributing 15-19% of agriculture output. In 2008, some 128,000 metric tons of olives were estimated to be picked and 32,000-35,000metric tons of olive oil were expected to be produced. (
UN,
The Olive Harvest in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,
Oct. 2008)
.
•
In 2007, there were 6,976
agricultural establishments
operating.
(PCBS,
Establishment Census
, 2007).
•
In 2005, Gaza’s 2,998
fishermen
- operating
707 boats - caught some 1,818.3 tons of
fish
, mainly sardines.
(PCBS,
Agricultural Statistics
, 2006).
•
Due to the
separation barrier
important areas of land and water resources are becoming increasingly difficult to bringinto production, affecting some 170,000 dunums of
fertile agricultural lands
or 10.2% of the total area cultivated inthe West Bank, with an average economic value of US $38 million – equal to roughly 8% of Palestinian agricultureproduct
(World Bank,
The Economic Effects of Restricted Access to Land in the West Bank,
Oct. 2008)
•
The halt in exports and the prohibition on importing fertilizer, pesticides, packaging materials and other inputs has led tothe
loss
of more than 40,000
jobs
in the agriculture sector. PalTrade estimates total
agricultural export losses
at US$30 million in the 2007/2008 season.
(World Bank,
West Bank and Gaza Update
, Oct. 2008).
•
It is estimated that as a result of the
construction of the separation barrier
some 15% of West Bank agricultural landwill be lost
(UNCTAD, 2008).
8.3INDUSTRY&PRIVATESECTOR
Facts & Figures
•
The
industrial
sector’s share of the Palestinian
GDP
was estimated at 14% in mid-2008 (manufacturing: 11.3%, mining/quarrying: 0.5%, construction: 2.7%) and itsshare in total
employment
at 12.3% (1995: 17.5%)
(PCBS.
Quarterly National Accounts
. 2008).
•
At the end of 2007, the share of the
GDP
of
manufacturing, mining & quarrying
was estimated at 10.9%, that of
construction
at
2% that of
transport, storage & communications
at 12.1% and that of
services
(health, education, social, real estate,business,
hotel & restaurants) at 24.5%
(PCBS.
Quarterly National Accounts
. 2008).
•
In the first quarter of 2008, Agriculture and Industry combined were approx. 19% of
GDP
(as compared to 25% in1999).
(The World Bank.
Palestinian Economic Prospects: Aid, Access and Reform.
Sept. 2008.)
•
While employment in services consistently increases,
employment in industry and construction is declining
, whichis particularly apparent in Gaza, where it declined from 21% of total employment in 2000 to 7% by the end of 2007.
(ILO,
The Situation of Workers of the Occupied Arab Territories
. International Labor Conference, May 2008.)
•
Especially
Gaza
suffers from severe
capacity
underutilization
owing to the lack of access to inputs and markets. According to World Bank research, 96% of the 3,900
industrial establishments
that existed in Gaza June 2007,employing 35,000 workers, have been forced to close.
•
Consistent with the lack of borrowing,
industrial output
continues to decline. According to PCBS estimates, in 2007manufacturing output was approx. 1.8% lower than in 2006 and nearly 23% off from 1999.
•
In 2007, there were 132,874
establishments
in the WBGS, excl. Jerusalem (WB: 94,205 or 70.9%; GS: 38,669 or29.1%), implying a 34.1% increase compared to 1997. Some 116,804 of the total are
operating
(WB: 82,871 GS: 33,933),while 3,657 are completely and 5,130 temporarily closed, 638 are under preparation, and 6,645 are auxiliary units.
(PCBS,
Establishment Census,
2007).
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